Family Holidays in France

The French capital might be celebrated for romance, but it’s just as wonderful for family holidays. Vast parks and gardens stretch from the city centre to the mighty chateaux of Versailles and Fontainebleau. Disneyland Paris is regularly voted best in the world by families. And the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Palais Garnier opera, Arc de Triomphe and Notre-Dame Cathedral are just a few of the legends that make Paris such a monument-rich city.

• The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and home to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the Nike of Samothrace.
• Paris Zoological Park reopened in 2014 after a £125million overhaul, and is now one of the best urban zoos in Europe.
• The city’s luxury hotels are between the 1^st and 8^th arrondissements. Self-catering in areas like Belleville, Montmartre and in the 19^th or 20^th arrondissement will stretch a family budget further, but it’s never cheap to stay in Paris.

Brittany thinks of itself as more Celtic than French, and no other region is more steeped in mystery, myth and legend. But it’s also one of the most accessible parts of the country for UK ferries and a longstanding favourite for family holidays. Choose the south-west for most sunshine, sandy beaches, historic towns like Concarneau and Quimper, excellent campsites at Bénodet and brilliant watersports all along the coast.

• Camping and self-catering are the best options for families across Brittany.

Near-neighbour to Brittany as it is, Normandy couldn’t be more different. Beach holidays here are seaside classics, with large 19^th-century hotels, elegant villas, wide sandy bays, chic promenades and pavement cafés aplenty. Choose the coast west of Calais for timeless beauties like Le Touquet and Boulogne-sur-Mer. And don’t ignore Normandy away from the sea – the countryside is lush and lovely, Monet’s house at Giverny is here and Lyons-la-Forêt is said to be the most haunted place in France.

• Countryside and coastal campsites are best in Normandy and there’s a wide choice of self-catering apartments and beach houses close to Calais.

Rich and fascinating, the Loire Valley is very easy to work for a family holiday. In and around the charming city of Tours is a good base for visiting chateaux, touring dozens of ancient towns and villages, playing on the beautiful lake beaches and getting to grips with the region’s more eccentric activities, like hot-air ballooning.

• Chambres d’hôtes and gîtes are ideal for families in the Loire Valley, and they’re everywhere. It’s also another good area for camping and almost every site has cute holiday chalets to rent, too.

Whether you want Landes’ astounding Atlantic beaches, beautiful Bordeaux, climbing and skiing in the Pyrenees, surfing at Biarritz or a little touch of Basque in your French family holiday, the enormous south-west has it all.

• Stay outside the cities in this area for historic vineyard cottages, pretty beachfront apartments and fantastic coastal campsites.

Glamorous resorts are just a tiny bit of this wonderful part of France. Head into the mountains and go adventuring in the wild crags and gorges of Verdon. Find ancient cities like Arles, Aix, Avignon and Nimes, where they don’t need a shoreline to shine. Even a short drive from Marseille or Nice takes you into a world of hill towns and tiny hamlets, where it’s hard to believe promenades and private beaches even exist.

• Choose characterful self-catering in Côte d’Azur cities or chambres d’hôtes in rural areas, while coastal resorts to the west of Marseille are good for self-catering and camping.

Some of Europe’s finest skiing is found in these towering mountains. But several of the winter-sport resorts are now spring, summer and autumn playgrounds, too – Lake Annecy is amazing in July and August. Lyon is the regional capital and from silk corridors to Renaissance architecture, it’s right up there with the most mesmerising European cities – a lot less busy than Paris and a delight at Christmas.

French own-brand hotel chains like Mercure, Accor, Ibis and Campanile are best value in cities like Lyon and Grenoble.